The good, the mute and the ugly
by Twilight's-Phantom
Summary: Erik and Christine meet a little girl in the park. When Erik finds out she plays the violin, he starts teaching her. But a disaster strikes and the small girl becomes an orphan. What is Erik going to do now? Especially when he finds out the girl is related to Raoul? Will he loose her? E/C
1. Chapter 1

****Hey everybody, thanks for giving it a try. :D  
>As I've said before, this is written by a friend. But she's always whining that it's not good, and it sucks, and stuff like that.<strong>  
><strong>So, I'd like it if you reviewed, and give your opinion. Maybe even some tips. (Yes, I usually do the last grammarcheck, but I'm not very good in english either, and I don't want to be like a know-it-all. So..., bare with our bad english:P)<br>I'll make sure she'll read your review.  
><strong>**Thank you! :D****

**Writer's POV**

He laid her on his bed and caressed her cheek. He nearly didn't dare to look at her body.

'I'm not worth such perfection.' he said to himself. How could he even think that a woman like Christine would fall in love with him while his face was like this?

He sighed deeply when he looked at Christine for one more time, then he walked over to his piano.

He spent nearly the whole night making music until he heard a sound from behind him. He turned around and saw that it was Christine. Their eyes locked for a moment, and then he went on playing piano. He felt her coming closer and closer. Then she placed her hand on his shoulder. He stiffened for a moment for he wasn't used to physical contact. She touched his face gently. Erik exhaled and relaxed, closing his eyes. When he felt her hands reaching to his mask he stood up immediately before she could see _it_.

'No!' he said louder than he wanted and pushed her away. He looked at Christine, she looked shocked by his sudden anger.

_What have you done? You scared her, now she really thinks that you're a monster._

'I... I... I'm sorry,' he didn't dare to look at her, 'please forgive me.'

'Angel?' Christine asked.

'Please, don't call me like that, Christine. I don't deserve that.'

'Will you please tell me your name then?'

'My name?... My name is Erik. I'm Erik... Destler. Yes, Erik Destler.'

He still didn't dare to face her, he just couldn't.

He walked away a little, towards the doll and looked at it.

'I'm sorry, I lied to you, Christine. I'm not the Angel of Music. I'm just nothing.'

Christine walked to him.

'That's not true, Erik,' she said, his name sounding strange to his ears, 'nothing will ever change the fact that you're very important to me. When my father died, it was because of you that I didn't drown in my own tears. You will always be my Angel of Music.'

He finally dared to face her, she smiled, and after a while, he did too.

**Christine's POV**

He smiled, he seemed even more beautiful to me when he smiled. I knew this man for only a few hours and yet as long as I can remember. I felt that he loved me and cared about me like no-one else did.

I looked at the right side of Erik's face, his mask. _What would be underneath it? _

'I'm sorry, love,' Erik said like he knew what I was thinking. 'You can't see my face yet. It will do no good.'

'Not yet? You mean, I will see it once?'

'Perhaps... I should bring you back, I guess everyone, especially Le Vicomte, is worried about you.'

_Raoul, I nearly forgot him. What would he think of me because I didn't show up?_

'Perhaps...' I mumbled

Erik brought me back to my room.

'When will we meet again?' I asked him.

'Soon enough, love.' he said, and disappeared into the darkness of the mirror.

I sat on my bed thinking about Erik and especially his eyes. I saw a lot in his eyes: betrayal, anger, sadness, shame but most of all love. The way this man looked at me made me feel safe. I've never seen so much love in human eyes before. I never thought that there would be someone again who cared as much about me as my father did. Yes, Raoul loves me too but not like this, Raoul isn't this caring and soft.

Suddenly someone entered my room and woke me from my thoughts. It was Madame Giry.

'So, Erik finally brought you back I see.' she said.

'Erik?' I asked, 'you mean you know Erik?'

'Yes, I know him.' she said and sat down next to me.

'How have you met him? And why does he wear a mask?'

'I don't know if this is the right moment to tell you that.'

'Please, Madame, tell me.'

'I don't think he will like it if I...'

'Pleeeaaassssee, Madame.'

She sighed.

'Very well. I once found him long ago at a travelling fair. He was only a child. There he was an attraction called: "The Devil's Child". He was locked in a cage and people were laughing at him, shouting at him and throwing things at him. It was horrible. I couldn't leave him there, so I hid him here in the opera-house, far away from the world and it's cruelties. Since then he has lived here, it was his playground and now his artistic domain.'

'I don't really understand it. Why was he locked and why does he wear a mask?'

'He is... He is deformed, more monster than human, that is the reason for all the misery that has befallen him.'

'Deformed...' I mumbled, 'so he has never left the opera-house since then?'

'No, he never leaves the opera-house.' Madame Giry stood up. 'That's all I can tell you.' she said.

'Thank you, Madame, that helped me a lot.'

'I think it's better for you to sleep for a while.' she said and left my room.

She was right, I was very tired after all that happened to me. And before my head reached my pillow, I fell asleep.


	2. Chapter 2

**Enjoy!**

I woke from the heat in my room. I stood up and walked over to my window. I looked outside, it was a beautiful day. I looked at my clock; only two o'clock, not too late to go outside for a walk.

I quickly made myself ready to go and left my room as quiet and as quick as possible. I didn't want to be followed, this would be a moment for myself.  
>Luckily it was a day off at the opera house, so there was hardly anybody.<p>

I nearly reached the front door when I felt someone was looking at me. I stood still.

'Where do you think you're going?' someone behind me said.

I slowly turned around and saw that it was Raoul.

'I wanted to go outside, for some fresh air.' I said.

'Do you mind if I walk with you?' Raoul asked.

'No, of course not.' I lied.

Raoul smiled and walked outside with me.

'Where were you yesterday?' Raoul asked, when we were walking for a while, 'why didn't you show up?'

_Should I tell Raoul about Erik?_

I took me a while before I answered.

'I'm sorry Raoul,' I finally said, 'I was delayed. As I already said the Angel of Music is very strict.'

_Perhaps it is better if I stay silent for a while._

'Right…' Raoul said and there was an awkward silence for a while.

'Come Raoul, walk with me to the park. It's a beautiful spring day and the flowers bloom, I'm sure it will look wonderful.' I said to end the silence.  
>Raoul smiled and so we walked to the park.<p>

When we arrived at the park I saw that I was right, it really was wonderful. After we walked a while we decided to rest on a bench.

'Excuse me, Christine. I will be right back.' Raoul said and left.

I looked at the beautiful flowers and the children which were playing. It all looked so peaceful, it makes you forget all the bad things in the world.  
>I looked at a girl, which kite was up in a tree and her dad had to take it out for her. I did my best not to laugh. Then Raoul came back with something behind his back.<p>

'These are for you.' Raoul said, and he gave me some flowers.

'Raoul, these are beautiful! Thank you!' I said, and grabbed them gratefully.

'Now you have your own piece of spring.'

_I wish Erik would be here …_

I sighed.

'What is it?' Raoul asked, 'don't you think they are beautiful?'

'No, they are wonderful Raoul, really.'

'Then what is it?'

'It's just... It's just very warm outside.'

Raoul nodded.

'We can go back, if you want to.'

'Yes, then I can put the flowers in some fresh water.'

And so we walked back. We hadn't been very long in the park, and yet it had been long enough to think about Erik. And it was on my way back to the opera house when I got an idea.

Erik sat on my bed and I stood before him.

'I don't know, love.' Erik said.

'Why not?'

'People will stare at me...'

'Erik, I'm with you, no one will hurt you, I promise.'

Erik looked to the ground and kept silent.

'I...' Erik muttered, 'I don't know, Christine.' He looked up to me.

I remembered what Madame Giry told me about him.

I sat down next to him.

'Madame Giry has told me what happened to you.' I said.

'I know, I've seen it.'

'You've spent your whole life in the opera house, it is time to go outside. The Angel of Music needs to fly.'

'What will be different? I spent my whole life in my lair so I can manage a few more years.'

'Erik, please, what can possibly happen? I'm with you.'

Erik said nothing and just looked at me.

'Alright then.' Erik mumbled.

'Really?' I never expected that he would admit.

Erik nodded.

I hugged him and felt him stiffen a little.

'You won't regret it.' I whispered.

**Haha, my friend is killing me when she finds out I've uploaded this!**


	3. Chapter 3

**Haha, It's a short one. Guess somebody is very excited :P  
><strong>

'Come on, Erik.' I said and pulled at his arm.

We had been standing in front of the back door for a quarter now.

'Come on, and put off your hat and scarf. It's 23 degrees outside.'

'Do I really have to?' Erik asked.

'Yes, you have to.'

Suddenly Erik gasped and looked at the ceiling.

'Oh God, what have they done?' he asked.

I looked up, but it was all normal.

'What are you talking about?' I asked and turned around to face Erik, but he wasn't standing next to me anymore. I looked around but he was nowhere to be seen.

I sighed.

'Erik you're acting like a child, come back.'

He didn't respond, there was not a single reaction.

'Erik please, the park isn't far away.'

Still he didn't respond.

'Alright, Erik. Then I'll go alone.'

I grabbed the doorknob.

'I'm really leaving.' I said and opened the door.

'This is your last chance to come with me.'

Again no reaction.

I sighed again.

'Alright, Erik. I'll see you later.'

I closed the door behind me. After I walked a few steps, I heard the door open again and turned around. Erik was standing in the doorpost.

'Alright, I'll come with you.' he said.

I walked to him and hugged him.

'I nearly thought that I had to go alone.'

I looked into his eyes.

'I'm so proud of you, Erik.' I said.

'Is it okay if I wear my hat?' he asked, with a small voice.

'Of course.' I said and grabbed Erik's arm.

Together we walked to the front of the opera-house.

I felt him trembling.

'Erik... Are you scared?' I asked cautiously.

He said nothing and tried to smile at me, but he still looked very uncomfortable.

I squeezed his hand softly.

'You can give the basked to me, love.' Erik said, still trying to hide his discommode.

He sighed deeply and we walked further.

It was a very silent walk. Sometimes I would look up to Erik and saw the shadow of his hat hiding his face, but I could see the shimmer in his eyes.

'This street looks so familiar.' Erik whispered.

'What do you mean?' I asked, 'have you been here before?' Erik nodded slowly. 'When Madame Giry lead me to the Opera-house.'

I could feel it was hard for him to be at this street again, like meeting an old enemy again.

'Please, Christine.' Erik said like he was in deep pain, 'please, can we take another street?'

'Yes, of course.' And we walked into the next street.

When I finally saw the park raise at the end of the street, I felt a shock of release.

'There it is.' I said to Erik.

**Hope you enjoyed it a bit.  
><strong>


	4. Chapter 4

**Here you go :D**

**Writers POV**

Christine lay the picnic blanket on the ground in the shadow of a big tree and sat down on it.

'Let's see what we've got.' she said while looking into the basket. 'we have... some apples, a baguette, some cheese and orange juice.'

Erik grabbed an apple and took a bite. 'You're right Christine,' he said, 'this isn't that bad at all.'

'I told you.'

Erik looked around .

_It is beautiful, just like Christine said._

He had seen the park from the roof of the opera house many times before, but he had never imagined it to be this beautiful.

He thought about his mother who never allowed him to go outside and how she used to lock him up in the basement.  
>He frowned when he thought of it.<p>

'Are you alright, love?' Christine asked and woke him from his thoughts.

He nodded.

'Yes, it's just very strange for me to be outside again.'

'I understand that.'

Christine came closer and whispered in his ear.

'There has been someone looking at you for a while from behind that tree.'

From the corner of his eye he noticed a little girl looking at him. When he turned his head, she quickly hid herself behind the tree.

'I don't think this is a good thing, perhaps she recognizes me from somewhere...' Erik said in a panicking voice and Christine saw stress and fear in his eyes.

'She is just curious.' Christine said to calm him and gestured to the girl that she could come closer.

Step by step the girl came closer till she stood right in front of Christine.

'What's your name, dear?' Christine asked.

The girl remained silent, but she made a gesture to her throat.

'You can't talk?'

The girl shook her head.

'But I guess that you can write.' Christine said while she gave the girl a twig.

The girl swept some dead leaves and twigs from the ground and began to write in big letters.

_OLIVIA_

'That's a beautiful name.' Christine said.

The girl smiled and began to write in the ground again.

_CHRISTINE DAAE?_

Christine looked at Erik, who nodded.

'Yes, I am,' she whispered to the girl, 'but nobody needs to know, alright?'

The girl shook her head excitedly.

'Where are your parents, dear?'

The girl pointed to a women who was sitting on a bench.

Then she ran to her, made some strange gestures and then came back with the women walking after her.

'I'm Joséphine Landrieu, Olivia's mother.' the woman said.

'I'm Christine Daae.'

'It is a pleasure to meet you miss. Daae. Olivia is a big fan of you. She immediately knew that it was you.'

'You can call me Christine. Come, join us.'

Olivia smiled and sat down next to Christine and gestured something to her.

'Olivia asks who has taught you how to sing.' Joséphine said.

'Erik did,' Christine said and gave him a glance, 'and he still does. He really is an excellent teacher and composer, I can even say the best I've ever met.'

Erik blushed and looked away.

Olivia looked to Erik with big eyes and began to write.

_VIOLIN_

'You play violin?' Erik blurted out, after a moment of inner panic not knowing what to say.

Olivia nodded proud.

'Really? That's very good, music is very important.' Erik said.

'Olivia's father taught her,' Joséphine said, 'but he is no longer with us.'

'I'm very sorry.'

'We are looking for a new teacher, but the most of them are very expensive.'

'Erik can teach you,' Christine said after she exchanged a glance with Erik, 'for free.'

'But only, if you teach me sign language.' Erik said with a smile to Olivia, who nodded thankfully.

They sat a long time together, talking. Olivia and Joséphine looked a lot at Erik's mask but didn't ask anything about it.

'I think it is time for Olivia and I to go home.' Joséphine said when she looked at her watch and saw that it was 04.00 p.m.

Olivia gestured glumly to her mother if she couldn't stay any longer.

'I'm sorry, dear, but I have to go to the greengrocer which closes at five and I have to cook dinner. Well thank you for everything, Christine, and we stay in touch. I gave you my address, right?'

Christine nodded. 'Yes, you did.'

'Now say goodbye to Christine and Erik.'

Olivia walked to Erik and hugged him.

'See you another time, sweetheart.' he said.

Then she walked to Christine and hugged her even longer.

'What if,' Christine whispered while hugging Olivia, 'you now come with Erik and me, then you can get you first violin lesson and we'll bring you home again.'

Olivia stopped hugging and smiled gleesomely at the singer.

'If your mother agrees of course.'

Olivia looked at her mother and asked it again.

'Hmm, I don't know, Olivia.'

'Don't worry, Joséphine,' Christine said, 'we have your address so Erik and I can bring Olivia home again before dinner.'

'Well... Alright why not.'

Olivia hugged her mother really grateful and said goodbye to her.

'Perhaps we should go home too, love,' Erik said after a few minutes to Christine, 'because then Olivia and I can start the first music lesson.' He smiled when he saw Olivia trying to hide her enthusiasm.

'Alright.' Christine answered and began to clear away the things from their picnic.

When everything was put into the basked they were ready to leave.

Christine stood up and reached for Olivia's hand who grabbed it happily.

'You can give the basket to me, love.' Erik said to Christine.

And so they left the park.

**Woohoo she's writing the next chapter at the moment :D  
>I know what's going to happen, and it's pretty good :P<br>Thanks for reading though!**


	5. Chapter 5

When they were walking across a square, Olivia pulled at Erik's arm and pointed to some pigeons.

'Pigeons,' Erik said, 'you can feed them if you like, we still have some bread left.'

Olivia nodded excitedly and Erik gave her some bread.  
>He and Christine sat down on a bench.<p>

'Where am I going to teach her?' he asked, as he was watching the little girl who was happily feeding the birds.

'In your lair, I guess.'

'But do I have to tell her why I live down there?'

'You don't have to tell her anything, and you know that it is the only place you can teach her.'

Erik sighed, and looked at Olivia, who was now running after the pigeons.

'If you say so, love.'

Olivia walked back with a big smile on her face.

'Are you ready to walk further, sweetheart?' Christine asked.

Olivia nodded and so they walked home.

When they stood at the front of opera Christine grabbed Erik's arm.

'Wait Erik,' she whispered, 'we can't go through the back door again. Everyone is working, what if someone sees you?'

'Don't worry, love. Just follow me.'

The two girls followed Erik to the right side of the opera house.

'It must be here somewhere,' He mumbled, 'aha, here it is.'

He walked to a bush which grew against the wall of the opera.  
>Erik pushed a few branches aside... a hatch became visible and he opened it with difficulty, there were stairs which led down deep into the darkness.<p>

'I have never used this entrance before, but I know the way.' He said.

Olivia clung at Christine's arm.

'Don't be afraid, dear,' Christine said while she stroke reassuring trough the girls' hair, 'there is nothing to be afraid of.'

'Are you coming, love?' Erik said.

'Yes.' Christine answered and descended the stairs followed by Olivia who was holding her hand firmly; Erik came last and closed the hatch behind him.

He grabbed the first torch he saw, there weren't many. Why would you illuminate a course you're barely using? It was a very long descent with many stairs. Olivia looked around during the descent, scared of the darkness. Christine and Olivia followed Erik who looked back now and then.  
>After some time, Olivia was getting tired.<p>

'Erik, can we stop for a while?' Christine asked, 'Olivia is getting tired.'

'Oh, I'm sorry, hop on my back, Olivia. I'll carry you.'

Christine grabbed the torch from Erik, and Olivia did what he had said.

'I know this is a long way, but I promise you, next time you can come through another entrance, and the way will be much shorter.'

After several minutes they finally came at the end of the passage, it was closed with a red curtain. Erik put Olivia back on the ground, and hung the torch on the wall. He pushed the curtains aside.

'Ladies first.' he said while making a gesture to Olivia that she could enter.

Olivia stepped into the light of the candles which lit the lair.

She blinked a couple of times before she was able to see where she was. But when she was able to see, she was totally flabbergasted by the impressive appearance of the gate.

'Yes, this is all mine.' Erik said proudly and grinned by the sight of Olivia enjoying his creations.

Olivia walked towards a big red curtain which hung before something, but Erik quickly walked to her and stopped her before she could shove the curtain aside.

'No! Never ever touch this curtain again.' Erik said sternly.

Olivia nodded, a little bit startled from Erik's sudden severity.

Erik smiled. 'But, we're not here to touch curtains which mustn't be touched. We're here to make music.' Erik grabbed a small stool. 'Sit yourself down, Olivia. Then I'll go and search for my old violin which should be somewhere around here.'

Erik walked away and went searching for his violin, Christine walked towards Olivia, who sat herself down at the stool, and crouched in front of her.

'You really don't have to be afraid of Erik, dear. He means it all well, he just isn't used to people. It's exciting for him too.'

After a while Erik came back with a violin in his hands.

'Alright, here you are, dear.' he said and gave the violin to Olivia, 'I've already tuned it. Just one more moment, I'll get my other violin and then we're ready.'

Erik grabbed his violin which was lying on the table, placed a chair in front of Olivia and sat himself down. Christine placed a hand on Olivia's shoulder.

'Have fun,' she said, 'I'm going to read, if you need me, I'll be in the bedroom.' Erik nodded to her and Christine walked away.

'Alright...' Erik said, not really knowing where to begin, 'play something, a song which you really like, one which you memorized. It may be a long time ago, but try something.'

Olivia thought for a moment and then played a piece of a song.

'Hmm, "Ode An Die Freude" from Beethoven, a beautiful song, only you play this song on the E and the A string, but it is supposed to be played on the D and the A, like this.'

Erik placed the violin at his collarbone and played the song the way it should be.

'But other than that it was very good.'

Olivia showed a shy smile and blushed.

'Especially for a girl your age, my compliments.'

**Jeej, next chapter will be written by me. :D She asked me to.**


	6. Chapter 6

**Have fun! ^-^**

**Writer's POV**

'I think that's enough for today, Olivia,' Erik said, as he lay down his violin, 'Shall I return you home?'

She nodded. He had given Olivia lessons for 2 weeks now, one hour twice a week.

Though it was already half an hour walking to her house, he did not mind at all. He enjoyed it to teach her all he possessed. The most remarkable thing was that she was making progress very fast. He could see and hear she was practicing a lot at home.

He put on his coat and hat, and waited for Olivia to finish putting on her coat, and getting her things together.

'Do you have everything you need?'

She nodded.

'Let's go then.'

He led the girl through the passages, she hold tightly onto his hand, afraid of the shadows.

When they stepped into the sunlight, she blinked a few times, her eyes getting used to the light again. Erik frowned a little; it killed him to see she had to do that. How he wished he didn't have to live underground.

She happily grabbed his hand, and started to walk, dragging him almost behind her. He smiled at seeing her excitement. It didn't take long, or she was making all kind of gestures with her hands. She had taught him some gestures, so he could almost follow anything she was talking about. She was telling him a whole story, but when they almost reached her house, she suddenly stopped in the middle of a sentence. Staring straight ahead.

He frowned, 'what's wrong, Olivia?'

She pointed, and when he followed the direction her finger was pointing to, he gasped.

_The house_, he thought, _her house is on fire!_

Panic hit him, and Olivia started to cry from fear.

They were only 50 metres away, how could he not have seen it sooner?

He could see a crowd around the house, watching the burning; some women were weeping. He saw men running with buckets of water, but he knew they were too late.

Olivia hastily made some gestures.

'No, I don't know where your mother is, dear. Let's just hope she's not at home.'

She made gestures again, and his eyes widened.

'What? Are you sure, Olivia?'

She nodded, tears streaming down her face.

He looked at the burning house again, then turned to the little girl again and said: 'Stay here, I'm going to try finding your mother.'

He handed her his hat and ran off.

He pushed himself through the crowd, and kicked in the front door. He could hear people scream in fright when he entered the burning house. Men were shouting at him to come back, but he ignored them.

_I need to find her mother!_

The smoke was thicker than he had imagined, blinding him almost completely. He placed a hand in front of his mouth. The sound of burning wood echoed in his ears.

He entered the house deeper, the heat almost unbearable.

He screamed: 'Is there anyone in here?'

But he didn't receive an answer, the sound of his voice drowned in the flames.

'Josephine?!'

He coughed, sweat appeared on his face. He hoped he wasn't too late, but his inner voice said something else. He pushed it away. He ran up the stairs, badly coughing. The smoke and the heat burned his eyes and pushed the air out of his lungs. When he was on the top of the stairs, he could barely see what was in front of him. Pieces from the ceiling had already started to come down. Making it hard for him to walk further. It wouldn't take very long or the house would collapse. He could make out four doors; two closed, and two open. He imagined what Olivia had said to him. Her mother had been napping, and hadn't been there when it happened.

But how could she not have woken?

She would probably be in one of the closed doors. He tried to open the first door on the left, burning his hands from the heat of the doorknob.

_It gets hot in here, you fool. _

He kicked it open. When he tried to see what was in front of him, he could see it was the room of Olivia. It pained him to see the room burning down. She didn't deserve any of this. His eyes fell on a small table next to the door. There lay a photograph. He didn't know why, but he took it, and slid it into the inside pocket of his coat. He tried the next door, this time it was the right one. He coughed as the smoke blew in his face.

_I have to hurry. _

He peered into the room. In the smoke he could make out a body lying on the bed. A wave of relief flowed through his body. _I have found her mother!_

But when he tried to reach her, he found out she was trapped between the flames...

He couldn't reach her!

He screamed, but there was no response. His lungs filled with smoke once again. He coughed, nearly vomiting. He trembled as realization hit him... He couldn't save her. He had to leave her alone here, or else they would both die. Tears ran down his face as he backed out of the room. When he almost reached the stairs, the ceiling suddenly gave way, nearly crushing him. He felt a burning pain on his left lower arm and hand. He had not the time to look at the damage. He could feel him lose consciousness and made his way down the stairs, breathing heavily, trying to get more oxygen, yet it did not matter, the air was only getting thicker with smoke.

_Faster!_ He thought.

He could see the sunlight through the thick smoke. He coughed again, knowing this would be his last.

He tried to make his way to the light, his sight transformed in a blur.

_You're almost there. _

He took another two steps, the pain in his hand was getting a little less, he did not know if it was a good thing, but right now he didn't care. He started to feel very dizzy.

He could see the exit coming closer, just a few more steps...


	7. Chapter 7

The people watching the burning house could not believe their eyes when the strange man came out of the burning building again. Though he was staggering, he was very much alive. He fell down to his knees, coughing badly.

There were people running up to him, to support him.

Erik tried to open his eyes, but the light was too bright. He felt people dragging him away from the heat, putting him down on a bench or some kind. He heard all kind of questions, and tried to open his eyes again, letting them getting used to the light slowly. His eyes burned like hell. Inhaling deeply, he tried to get his mind cleared and let the fresh air stream through his lungs. He saw a man with a white overcoat coming up to him, he shouted something about water and more space.

Erik closed his eyes again, moaning in pain.

He heard a voice. 'don't worry, I'm a doctor. It will be alright.'

Erik did not respond. He breathed heavily, feeling his left arm getting wet. When he opened his eyes, he could see a part from the sleeve of his jacket and his shirt had been burned badly.

The doctor was wetting Erik's arm with water more now, taking off the scarf and opening the row of buttons on his waistcoat. Erik felt he could breath more easily now.

'Sir, do you feel pain in any other part of your body?'

He tried to speak, but his attempt ended in coughing. It seemed as if he couldn't do anything else.

'Give this man something to drink.' the doctor ordered one of his assistants.

Erik could feel more water streaming over his arm and hand, the pain getting less.

He realised Olivia would be here somewhere. He looked around, but couldn't see much because of the crowd. Somebody handed him a glass of water and he drank from it gratefully.

'Please,' Erik started, his voice still hoarse, 'There must be a little girl here somewhere.' His speech was interrupted by coughing. 'She's ten years old, and about this high.' He held his right hand a certain length away from the ground. 'She cannot talk, but she lived in this house. Could you please let somebody find her? It's very important.' He was panting now. He didn't understand how he could be out of breath so quick.

The doctor nodded, and ordered one of the men to find the girl that had just been described.

Erik could hear the burning of the house, and the crowd talking like madmen. It hurt his ears. He didn't know why, but it was somehow just too much.

The pain in his arm was almost blocked out by the lukewarm water. The doctor had carefully pulled Erik's right arm out off the burned jacket, and had ripped open the sleeve of the shirt underneath it. When the masked man looked down at his arm, he could see his lower arm and a part of his hand had been burned. The water made it feel less painful.

'Sir, can you tell me who you are, and what happened in there exactly?' The doctor asked.

_Is it just me, or is he trying to distract me?_

Erik inhaled deeply.

'I'm the teacher of Olivia, the little girl I'm looking for. I was bringing her home, when she pointed at the burning house. She told me she was sure that her mother was still in there... and that's why I went inside. To find her mother. And I...' he stopped, fighting back tears.

'Yes, continue.' the doctor said, not looking up from his work. He was still cooling the burns.

'I...' he couldn't hold the tears back, 'I found her body, but I couldn't reach it... It was trapped in flames. There was too much smoke, I couldn't breathe properly. And then... I had to get out. for my own safety... I couldn't save her life. I failed. I've probably burned my hand when the ceiling came down.' He coughed heavily. Then, it dawned on him why Olivia's mother had not been able to flee.

'She was trapped,' he repeated, 'she was sleeping, when the fire started, but it spread too fast. When she awoke from the smoke. She was already too late... She probably choked.'

He sighed, sobbing aloud. 'What a horrible death. If I only had been sooner...'

The doctor interrupted him. 'Sir, you did all you could do. The death from that woman is not your fault. Please, do not blame yourself for anything. You risked your life to save her.'

His voice was stern and cold. Erik nodded, drying the tears from his left cheek.

Then, he heard quick footsteps, and out of nowhere felt two small hands clutching at his open waistcoat.

It was Olivia. She buried her head in his clothes, sobbing out loud. He petted the back of her head with his one free arm. He did not speak, not knowing whether he should tell her the truth already or not.

'I presume this is the daughter?' the doctor asked. Erik nodded.

'Olivia,' Erik whispered to the sobbing child, 'Olivia, come sit on my lap for a moment. There is something I need to tell you.' He decided it would be best if he told her the truth immediately.

She climbed on his lap. When she was settled, she started making gestures.

'It's alright, darling. I'm fine.' She pointed at the burns the doctor was treating.

'It's nothing.' he lied. She looked at him, her eyes red from crying. He could see she was scared, and asked himself how it would feel not to be able to talk. He sighed, and looked in her eyes.

'You know I tried to save your mother, right?' She nodded, and there was a small sparkle of hope in her eyes. He sighed again, not wanting to tell her. 'Well..., ' he began, tears forming in his eyes again,

'I ... I ... was too late. I'm so sorry, Olivia. I was not able to save her.'

It took quite a while before she reacted, she just stared at him. Her eyes emotionless. But then, the massage hit her.

Erik wasn't used of people touching him. Let alone hugging him. But this time, he let it happen.

He had just told a ten year old girl that her mother had died in the fire. How could he ever blame her for this reaction? Though she only knew him for 2 weeks, she apparently trusted him fully.

He tried to calm her down, but it was in vain. She was heartbroken. The doctor noticed she started to hyperventilate, and made her inhale through her nose, and exhale through her mouth while he was cooling the burns on Erik's arm. It made both men sad to see such a young child cry that hard.

The masked man gently rubbed the little girls back. The small arms around his neck were nearly choking him, making it even harder for him to breath, but he did not mind.

He could feel his shirt getting wet from her tears, but he did not mind.  
>They sat there for at least 5 minutes. He looked at his burned hand, knowing those wounds would never go away.<p>

'There's good news,' the doctor said, 'it's not as bad as it looks like. Only this little section is a third degree burn. The remain area is second degree. You can call yourself very lucky.'

Erik looked at Olivia, how could he call himself lucky? If he had been able to save her mother, he would have sacrificed himself. He would have done anything. Yet here he was, all save and sound, with an orphaned child in his arms. What was he to do? He could not take care of her. He didn't even have a proper house. He sighed. She couldn't go to relatives. The only one she had lived at the other side of the country, for a reason!

He felt soft poking in his chest, and saw Olivia was trying to get his attention. She had let go of his neck, and now looked at him in wonder, tears still in her eyes.

'What is it, darling?'

She was making gestures, not very fast. Probably tired of this whole incident.

Erik was silent for a while, trying to think of an answer, and then said: 'I don't know what we're going to do, Olivia. But I think it's best if I take you home with me for today so we can talk about some things, and I bet Christine would like to see you again too.'

She nodded, tears tolling over her eyes again. He tried to pull her closer to him with his one hand.

He hoped the doctor would be finished soon...

When they were home again, Erik put the girl down, and laid her things on the grand piano. It had taken him 10 minutes before he had convinced the doctor that he was feeling alright (even though he wasn't), and that he was able to make it to his home by himself. He sat down in his chair for a minute, feeling exhausted. It was even more harder to breath in here than it had been outside. He took off his coat, and looked at his bandaged lower arm and hand. He remembered the words the doctor told him: _don't try to move your wrist, or else the wounds will never heal._

But he was a musician! How would he be able to play violin or piano, if he couldn't bent his wrist properly?

He sighed, there was a burning pain in his arm. He hoped he could cool it down again soon. The doctor had also told him this was special bandage... it wouldn't stick to his wounds or something like that. Olivia came up to him, and hugged him. Tears were rolling over her face again.

'There, there.' He whispered.

He pulled her up, and placed her on his lap, bending his left wrist, he cursed himself. This would be harder than he thought. He placed his arms around her, petting the back of her head. They sat there for some time. The only sounds were the sobs from Olivia and the soft splashing of water.

And suddenly, there was a wave of exhaustion. Erik could feel himself almost falling asleep.

His eyes were closing slowly...

No! He had to stay awake. He looked down at the small girl in his arms. There was a strange feeling welling up in him. It was love, yet, in a different way. He could not place it exactly. But he felt as if he needed to care for her and guard her. Wanting to make her happy as only... as only a father could do.  
>He stroke through her hair, speaking to her softly. The crying started to get less, and before he knew it, she was quiet again. He could see she felt exhausted, and decided it would be best if he took her to Christine right now. He stood up, the girl still in his arms.<p>

'Don't worry, dear. I'm going to bring you to Christine.' he said when he felt the little hands clutch at the back of his neck.

It was a long journey. Olivia had fallen asleep, and Erik had to carry her full weight now. He had to be careful not to bend his wrist and had to ignore the pain from his left arm. He could feel her head resting on his shoulder, her hands dangling around his neck.

He felt glad when he finally reached the mirror. He peeked through the glass to see if there was anybody there, and then opened it.

**heey folks,, well, I want you to know that I found it out :P first I was pretty nervous about what your reactions would be, but now I've read them I'm more confident about my fanfiction and you also gave me good advice, thanks for that. however, I think my grammar won't be better than this :P I'm sorry. well I'll keep on writing and reading your reviews.**

**Greetings ''the Author'' **


	8. Chapter 8

'Christine?' she heard a familiar voice whisper, 'Christine, are you there?'

A wave of excitement hit her; it was her Angel.

'I'm here, Erik.' she said, and walked up to the mirror, but gasped when she saw him.

_What in heaven's name has happened to him?_

He was carrying Olivia in his arms, his left sleeve ripped apart to reveal the bandage. His hair was full of dust, as were his trousers.

'Erik! What has happened to you? Shouldn't you have brought Olivia home three hours ago?'

She walked up to him, and took the sleeping child from his arms. She could smell the scent of smoke clinging to him.

'Please, sit down.'

'No, wait, Christine. I first need to ask you a question.' He looked into her brown eyes.

'Could Olivia stay here for the night?'

'Yes, I'm almost certain she can. But, why would she have to?'

Erik sighed, and sat down in the closest chair he could find.

'Her house... I don't know if you've already heard it, but her house has burned down.' His voice sounded exhausted. He did not look at Christine, his eyes were fixating on the flowers standing on the table next to him, but he heard her gasp.

'I tried to save Joséphine... but I was too late.'

He looked sadly at Christine, and saw a tear roll over her cheek.

'No Erik. That's not true. Please, tell me this is a sick joke.'

She had sat down on the chair next to him, still holding Olivia in her arms.

'I'm sorry, Christine. I wish it were.'

There was a long silence. Then Christine broke it, 'Erik what has happened to you? You look like a mess. And what happened to your arm and hand?'

He paused a few moments before he answered, 'I went inside, but the ceiling came down. It burned part of my forearm and hand.'

There was another tear rolling down her cheek. She noticed how heavy he was breathing.

'I shall ask Madame Giry if she has a spare bed. Stay here with Olivia, I will be right back.'

She handed the girl over to him, and left.

As he was waiting for Christine's return, he started humming a song.

He could feel it was getting much harder to hold all the long notes, and he had to stop at a certain point to catch his breath again. He wasn't used to this! Normally he could hold a note for as long as he wanted to. Could the smoke really have infected him that much?

It took quite a while before Christine returned. He started to worry.

_Perhaps something happened to her too?_

No, that was ridiculous. He was worrying about nothing.

After a few minutes, Christine came back, followed by Madame Giry.

'Erik, explain to me. What the hell has happened? Christine came to me, but her story did not make sense at all.'

He explained the whole story again. He found it annoying he had to tell it so many times, but was glad Madame Giry understood. 'So you're asking if Olivia could spend a night here, at the opera?'

He nodded.

'Well Erik, I don't know if that's going to happen. You know the opera house is already struggling with having enough beds.' Erik frowned. He knew the answer would be something like this.

'But,' Madame Giry continued, 'because this time it wasn't entirely your fault, and the girl probably will stay longer, I think it's not a bad idea if you would stay a few days at my place.'

Erik looked, and felt, relieved, he had found a save place for her to stay for a while.

'When can I bring her there?'

'If I look at you I think it's best if we left right now.'

He nodded.

Erik walked towards the mirror. 'I will meet you within three quarters at the front of the opera-house.' he said and disappeared in the mirror.

In his lair he quickly put on some fresh clothes, and put his violin, some clothes and some stuff he might needed in a suitcase. He quickly washed his face and put on another wig and mask. He suddenly remembered what de doctor had said: "Make the wounds regularly wet and clean with water."

_I will do that in Madame Giry's house. Those damn wounds wouldn't be on my arm anyway if Christine hadn't forced me to go outsi… No… Don't blame Christine for your stupid actions, without her you wouldn't even know Olivia._

He looked at the white bandage around his arm, his wound was hurting a little but he just ignored that. He put on the rest of his clothes, took a last look in his suitcase to see if he had everything he needed, and walked to the front of the Opera-house.

One hour later Christine, Olivia, Madame Giry and Erik were on their way to Madame Giry's house. Olivia was still sleeping in Christine's arms, snoring softly. It was a silent journey, for a quarter there was no word spoken. The first words came from Madame Giry when they were in front of her house and she was searching in her bag for the keys. 'Aha, here they are.' she said when she had finally found them. She put a small key in the lock and opened the wooden door of her house.

They came in a small hallway with a few pegs hanging on the wall. 'You can hang your coats on one of the pegs.' Madame Giry said while she was sweeping her feet on the doormat. 'Erik, you and the girl will sleep in the room at the end of the hallway, and Christine you will sleep in Meg's room, she will help you later with making the spare bad ready.'

'That will be fun.' Christine said. She always found it a shame that Meg slept at her home and not with her in the dormitory of the Opera house, 'Now I'm going to put Olivia in her bed, the poor girl is exhausted. Which room was it again?'

'At the end of the hallway.'

'Oh, yes, of course.' Christine walked away and Erik followed Madame Giry to the living room. Here stood a large bookcase in the left corner and a lot of paintings hanging on the wall with landscapes and flowers. Erik always wondered how Madame Giry's house looked like and this was quite how he imagined it, a bit old fashioned and structurally decorated.

Madame Giry walked to the kitchen and came back with two glasses of red wine, one she handed to Erik. 'Thank you.' he said and took a sip. They walked to a red couch which stood in front of a little stove. Madame Giry sat down on the couch and Erik on the armchair which stood next to it.

'So,' Madame Giry said while looking at Erik, 'what are you going to do with the girl.'

It was silent for a moment before Erik answered, 'I will raise her.'  
>Madame Giry nearly choked in her wine. 'You? And where were you planning to do that? You can't raise a child 18 meters underground!'<p>

Erik took a sip from his wine. 'She has no parents, Antoinette.' he said calmly while looking at his glass.

'But I'm sure she has relatives?'  
>Erik was silent again. 'I will not bring her to anyone.' he said after a while.<p>

'You love that girl, don't you? You love her like a father loves his child.' Erik took a sip.  
>'I can always buy my own apartment.' he said ignoring the words from Madame Giry… though he knew that they were true.<p>

Madame Giry sighed deeply and brought her empty glass back to the kitchen. 'Erik, I'm going back to my ballet girls, I'll be back before dinner.'  
>She had opened the front door when Christine came back.<p>

'Leaving already?' she asked. 'Yes, the girls must practice and I'm sure they're not going to do that on their own.' Christine chuckled. The words of Madame Giry were so true. Madame Giry gave a few more instruction and a last goodbye, and then she left.

'Olivia is sleeping like a dead one.' Christine said to Erik, and walked to the kitchen to make a cup of tea for herself. She grabbed the kettle and put some water in it. From the corner of her eye she looked to the masked man, who took a sip of his wine, while she waited for the water to be cooked. Suddenly she felt butterflies in her stomach which even got worse when their gazes locked and Erik showed a little smile.

_This would be nice, _Erik thought, while looking at Christine, _Olivia, Christine, and I, living in an apartment of our own. _His lips curled up into a smile by this thought.

'What are you thinking about?' Christine asked and sat down next to him with a warm cup of tea. 'Nothing, love.' was the answer, he drank the last wine out of his glass and put the now empty glass on the table. Christine looked at the white bandage around Erik's lower arm. 'Does your wound still hurt?' she asked. Erik nodded.

'The doctor said I must make it wet regularly but I haven't done it yet.'

'Then we'll do it now. Take off your bandage.' Erik slowly did what she said and Christine gasped when seeing the burns. 'My God, Erik!'  
>'Don't worry, dear. It feels less painful than it looks.'<p>

After a few more moments of staring Christine walked to the kitchen and grabbed a towel and drenched it in cold water. She sat down next to Erik again and lay his arm on her lap. Gently, she wrapped the wet towel around Erik's arm, studying him from the corner of her eye. She looked at his hand. The long, strong, slim fingers with the well shaped fingernails.

_He has beautiful hands. _

'Is it still hurting?' she asked. He shook his head. 'It is burning less now, thank you.'

After a while, Christine brought the wet towel back to the kitchen and made it wet with cold water again. She sat back down next to Erik to repeat her actions.  
>She didn't let go of his arm, but began to play with his fingers. She sighed deeply, and thought about the conversation she had had with Olivia 6 days ago when she was bringing Olivia back home:<p>

_'Yes, I know, that Erik loves me.' she had said. 'And I hope that one day he'll find out that I love him too...'  
>Olivia had gestured a response, and Christine had been able to make out the most of the gestures. <em>

_'Tell him? How am I supposed to do that? I can't just go to him and say: "Hey, Erik, did you already know that I love you very very much?", can I?'_

_Olivia had shrugged._

_'I don't know it either.' She had sighed. 'Why are these things so complicated?'_

_How am I ever going to tell him that I love him?_

'What is it, love?' Erik asked her and woke her from her thoughts. Christine shook her head. 'I don't know.'  
>He grabbed Christine's hand and looked into her eyes. 'You can tell me anything. You know that, don't you?' Christine nodded and felt the butterflies even more because of the sight of his beautiful eyes. She looked at his arm again. How she wanted that he would once wrap his arms around her.<p>

_Just tell it to him. It can't be hard._

'Erik...' She moved a little closer to him still holding his hand. 'You will always be my Angel of Music.' Erik smiled. He felt the strange tickle in his stomach which he always felt when he saw Christine, only this time it was worse. He kissed her softly on her forehead, he didn't know why he did that, he just had to do it. 'And you will always be mine, love.'

_Love,…_ she loved it when he called her like that, it was the warm way he said the word which could wake the butterflies inside her stomach.

'Erik...'

She was unable to look away once their eyes had met. She had the feeling Erik looked very different now than the first time she saw him, beautiful even.

'I love you.' she said, the words left her mouth like a spring breeze.

He squeezed in her hand when he heard the words.

_Did she really say that? Did she really say that to me?_

Their faces were so close now that he could feel her warm breath on his face.

'I love you too, Christine.'

And then something happened… something that only happened in Erik's deepest dreams.

Christine kissed him…

**Yeah, it's a cliffie :D**


	9. Chapter 9

**Sorry for letting you all wait, folks!  
><strong>

_And then something happened… something that only happened in Erik's deepest dreams.  
><em>_Christine kissed him…_

She really kissed him! He could feel how she softly pushed her lips on his. The caress of her lips was softer than he could have imagined. He could feel Christine caressing his face, caressing his chest, deepening the kiss... No-one had ever touched him like this; no-one had ever kissed him like this. How he wished she would never stop. How he loved her. Erik pulled her closer, kissing her with so much passion and desire it made her mind spin. Christine could feel Erik's hands discovering the curves of her body, and it felt so good, her hands wrapping automatically around his neck. How she wanted him, how she loved him.

Erik opened his eyes a little just to see if it wasn't just a dream, but when he did he saw from the corner of his eye someone standing in the living room... watching them. Erik immediately broke away from the kiss and cleared his throat, trying not to blush for it was Olivia standing there wearing the nightdress of Christine which was way too big for her. Christine had also turned around wondering where Erik was looking at and immediately blushed when she noticed Olivia and quickly took a big sip from her now cold cup of tea.

Erik didn't know how to behave so he tried to sound as normal as possible: 'Oh hello, Olivia. I didn't see you coming in. Have you slept well, dear?'

Olivia shrugged and started sobbing.

Erik stood up totally forgetting the awkward moment and walked to Olivia to carry her.

'Ssssshh, dear. What's wrong? Did you have a nightmare?'

Olivia nodded and buried her face in Erik's shirt.

'Sssssshhh, it will be alright.' He gave a small kiss on her forehead.

Christine looked at Erik, how he was comforting Olivia with fatherly love, how he whispered reassuring words.

'I will be right back.' he mouthed to Christine and brought Olivia back to her bed.

He lay Olivia in her bed again, and tucked her in. He sat down at the edge of her bed. Olivia was still sobbing.

'Did you dream about your mother?' Erik asked.

Olivia nodded.

It was heartbreaking for him to see such a young child sobbing about her mother's death. He thought back about the lifeless body of Joséphine, and closed his eyes, how he hated himself that he hadn't been sooner.

A tear rolled over his left cheek. He opened his eyes and gasped barely audible by the feeling of a small hand on his cheek. It was Olivia, looking at him with red teary eyes; she softly wiped the tear away. She wasn't sobbing anymore.

Erik showed a little smile, but his eyes didn't smile with him for he was still thinking about Joséphine.

'I hope you will sleep better now, dear.' he said and kissed Olivia on her forehead. He wanted to stand up and walk back to the living room but Olivia grabbed his arm. She didn't gesture anything but the way she was looking at him was enough for Erik to understand that she wasn't able to sleep yet. Erik sat back at the edge of her bed and started to hum, improvising a song. Olivia closed her eyes and in a few minutes she was in a deep peaceful sleep. Erik smiled, and tucked her in better before he walked back to the living room, Christine had made a new cup of tea for herself. He sat down next to her and lay his head in his hands. Christine lay a hand on Erik's shoulder.

'Perhaps you should sleep too for a while, it has been a tough day for you too.' she said, but Erik shook his head.

'No, I think I'll begin with preparing dinner.'

'I can do that too.' Erik ignored her words and walked to the kitchen to look for something he could prepare.

Christine sighed. _Why is he so stubborn?_

'Let me at least help you.' she said while walking after him to the kitchen.

They made a simple vegetable soup.

'Should I wake Olivia?' Christine asked while covering the table.

'No, I think it would be better if she sleeps a little longer.' Erik answered.

They decided not to wait for madame Giry and Meg, because it could take a couple hours before they would arrive home.  
>Suddenly, while eating his soup, a thought hit Erik's mind.<p>

_The photo I took with me from Olivia's bedroom, it's still in the pocket of my coat, my coat is... is still in my lair._

With this thought in his mind he ate his soup.

'Is there something wrong, dear? Why are you frowning?' Christine asked.

'It's nothing. There are only some things I forgot to take with me from my lair.'

'You can get them tomorrow, because I wanted to go to the Opera house with Olivia anyway.'

Erik stopped eating and raised one eyebrow. 'Why?' he asked, 'why taking Olivia with you?'

'For a little distraction, she is just a little girl, she can't mourn every day. That can't be good for her.'

When they were finished, Erik cleared the table.

'When will madame Giry return? It is taking a very long time don't you think?' he said while he looked at the clock.

'Yes, I bet the rehearsals are running out again. It can't be otherwise with Carlotta in the main role.'

'What? Carlotta? Are these managers deaf? That woman can't sing!'

_I think it is time again to make clear again who exactly is in charge in the opera house._

Christine chuckled.

'Then I guess they are deaf indeed. But I think madame Giry and Meg will not come home within an hour, so I am going to prepare the spare bed already.'

'Should I help you with that, dear?'

'No, your wrist needs rest.' She kissed him on his cheek and left to Meg's room.

Erik looked in the stockpot with soup, dipped his pink in it and tasted.

_It's still warm. I guess Olivia is getting hungry. _

He poured some soup into a bowl, grabbed a spoon and walked to Olivia's room. He heard violin music from the other side of the door. He knocked. The music stopped, then there was a quick note playing. Erik didn't really knew what this meant so he opened the door slowly. Olivia was sitting on the edge of her bed. When she saw Erik she smiled and lay the violin next to her.

'I've got soup for you, I guessed you'd be hungry.' he said and gave the bowl and the spoon to Olivia who grabbed it thankfully. She immediately began to eat though you could see she wasn't hungry at all. Erik chuckled.

'You don't have to eat it, if you don't feel hungry.'

He grabbed the violin and thought back about the several times this violin had comforted him. He felt the cold wood on his clavicle and then music filled the air. He played a warm melody and enjoyed every minute of it. Suddenly a severe pain hit his hand and wrist; his skin began to burn painfully. His face twisted in pain. He dropped the bow and could not suppress a moan. He noticed Olivia had stopped eating and was looking very concerned at him. He tried to smile.

'It is alright just a little cramp in my wrist that's all.'

Olivia didn't believe him, but she didn't mention it.

Erik grabbed his bow off the ground and began to play again. He tried to take it easy but as soon as the violin touched his skin his fingers began to play. His wrist was still hurting but he couldn't stop, he didn't want to stop. He closed his eyes and floated away with his music. The words from the doctor floated through his head again:  
><em>don't try to move your wrist, or else the wounds will never heal.<em>


	10. Chapter 10

'Erik...' said a voice like an angel.

'Erik.' the same voice only louder this time.

'Erik, do you hear me?'

He opened his eyes and stopped playing when he saw Christine standing in the doorpost.

'Erik, answer my question: Will you please get me a pillow, I can't reach them. ' She said.

'Oh, of course, love.'

He lay the violin and the bow on the bed and followed Christine out of the room.

In the hallway Christine stood still.

'What were you doing? You are not allowed to play with a wrist like this.'

'It wasn't hurting at all.' he lied, it felt horrible to lie to Christine but he didn't want to make her worry her even more.

'No, not yet. You know I love it when you play, but if you're not cautious enough you'll never be able to play again.'

'I know what I do, love. And I know what the doctor said, but I feel that my wrist can handle it, so why shouldn't I do it?'

Christine sighed.

'But don't come crying, telling me your wrist is hurting.'

Erik chuckled.

'Don't worry. I will not.'

Erik got a pillow for Christine from the top shelf of the closet in Meg's bedroom and then left the room to take a bath.

Christine put the pillow in a light pink pillowcase and lay it on the bed which was right opposite Meg's bed. She sat down at the edge of it and looked around. The room was very cosy and just big enough for two beds and a closet. There were two windows with silk curtains in front of them.

Then the door slowly opened and Olivia's head peeked inside the room.

'Come in, Olivia.' Christine said, 'Are you feeling a little better now?'

Olivia nodded. She walked into the room and sat down on the edge of the bed next to Christine.

She gestured to Christine.

Christine smiled.

'I was already wondering how long it would take before you would ask.' she said. 'But it is kind of a long story.'

Olivia gestures again.

'I don't think he will like it if I tell you what's behind the mask.'

Olivia nodded, a little disappointed about the answer.

'How about a nice cup of tea with honey?' Christine asked to change subject.

Olivia nodded and followed Christine to the living room.

After Erik was totally dressed again he walked to the living room where he saw the two girls with a cup of tea, the fire in the stove was burning.

'Did madame Giry still not return?' he asked while he poured some wine in a glass.

Christine shook her head.

'No, I begin to worry, Erik. What if something bad has happened?'

Erik sat down in the armchair and took a sip from his wine.

'If she isn't back within an hour, then I'll go and search her.' he said.

Suddenly a severe pain hit his arm.

He moaned softly but it was hard enough for Christine to hear it.

'Erik, are you alright?' she asked. Erik smiled at her and nodded.

'Your arm hurts, doesn't it?' Erik's gaze went to Olivia, who was looking very concerned, and back to Christine.

_Now put yourself together, don't admit to the pain._

'I'm okay, love. Don't worry about me.' he answered.

'Okay, if you say so Erik.'

The pain didn't leave his arm but was slowly getting worse.

He gazed in the fire, trying not to focus at the pain in his arm.

He sat like this for quite some time. Then Olivia out of nowhere yawned.

Christine looked at the clock which showed it was almost half past nine.

'I think it is time for you to sleep.' Christine said to Olivia who nodded.

Christine stood up and walked with Olivia to her bedroom.

Erik waited till she was gone and then stood up.

_Water! I must cool my arm down! It is hurting! It is hurting so badly!_

He felt very dizzy and warm; quickly he walked to the bathroom. Slowly he put off the bandage, immediately his face contorted from the pain. He looked at his wound; there were yellow blisters on his arm, which was burning as hell. He made a towel wet and pat the wound, but the pain was so heavy he nearly had to scream. The heat was still increasing.

_I must lie down for a moment. It is so warm. Everything is turning._

He could feel himself walking towards his bedroom clinging at everything he saw trying not to fall. Christine walked out of Olivia's bedroom and gasped when she saw Erik walking like a dying one.

'Erik!' she ran to him and gave him some support.

'Erik, you must lie down quickly.' She put a hand at his forehead.

'You're having high fever!'

'Christine,' Erik mumbled, 'I'm fine, dear. I'm fi...' He fell down on the cold wooden floor, he could hear Christine gasp and talk to him before it all faded to black.


	11. Chapter 11

**It's a very very shortie :P**

**Meg's POV**

I couldn't take my eyes off the man which was lying on the spare bed at the other side of my room. From under my sheets I could only see the masked side of his face. A ray of moonlight fell on his face which made him even more mysterious. I watched his chest rising and falling slowly. I have never been alone with a man in my room before. Christine and mother have told me almost everything about him. ALMOST everything, except one obvious thing: What is behind the mask? She didn't even mention the mask and I didn't ask anything about it, not that I'm not curious but I just had the feeling that I shouldn't talk about it.

I stepped out of my bed and sat down on the edge of the spare bed. I laid my hand on Erik's forehead, his fever was decreasing. I looked at his wound, the blisters where less big but it still looked angry.

A soft moan left Erik's mouth. I grabbed a wet towel out of the bucket with water which stood next to my nightstand. I patted Erik's wound with it for the tenth time this night and threw it back in the bucket when I was done.

I explored his body with my eyes, he was a bit on the thin side and yet he seemed very strong to me, both physically and mentally. His white shirt was sticking to his body and the sweat on his skin sparkled in the moonlight.

I took a glance at the clock on my nightstand and saw that it was almost four o'clock in the morning.

I stood up to walk back to my bed, on my way back I stumbled over Erik's shoes. I blushed, though I knew he couldn't have seen it.

Back in my bed I started to gaze at Erik again.

Several thoughts went through my mind: _He would never sing for me like he does for Christine, I'm just a ballet girl and Christine is a famous soprano._

_He would never care about me. I'm too small in this big world, too small to be seen._

Suddenly I woke up from my daydreams.

'Meg this is ridiculous,' I said to myself. 'How could you even fall in love with a man you barely know?' I already knew the answer: he was a genius, a hero, a musician. He was The Angel of Music.

I sighed.

_You have to face it Meg, he will never be yours. Christine is his true love, or at least for now..._


	12. Chapter 12

**Wow, finally updating. It has been a while. I know it's not a long chapter, :((  
>Don't ask me why. <strong>

He could feel a hand patting his arm with a wet towel, but those weren't the hands of Christine. Slowly he opened his eyes a little to see a blond girl sitting on the edge of the bed concentrating on his arm. He knew this girl. As he came to his senses a bit more he realised where he knew her from; it was Meg, madame Giry's daughter.

He looked around, he was lying on a bed but he couldn't remember he went to bed yesterday. This wasn't the room he had to share with Olivia either. This was Meg's room, but what was he doing here? Erik closed his eyes again and tried to remember what had happened yesterday.

He could hear someone enter the room, and then Christine's concerned voice filled the room: 'How is he doing?'

Meg answered: 'Not much better than ten minutes ago.' Then she sighed and stood up. 'I'm going to fetch more water.' she said while walking away.

Christine sat down on the edge of the bed and began to caress the left side of Erik's face. Erik opened his eyes to meet Christine's. She smiled when their eyes met.

'Good morning, how are you feeling?' she said softly and moved her hand a little lower to his neck. He closed his eyes again and moaned, not knowing if it was an answer to her question or a reaction from the pleasure of Christine's touch.

He opened his eyes once again to look at her; her hair had been tied back with a blue ribbon, exactly the same blue as the blue from her dress. She looked so beautiful.

'Erik, how are you feeling?' she asked again, after she didn't receive an answer. He sat up trying not to use his left arm.

'There were times when I felt better.' he answered, 'How did I end up here?'

Christine pushed him back gently.

'You passed out, your wound was inflamed and you got fever, very high fever.'

The memories came back to Erik's mind, the blisters on his arm, the dizziness, the heat...

'For a moment I thought...' she stopped in the middle of her sentence and swallowed, '... for a moment I thought you were not going to make it... It has kept me up all night, but luckily I was wrong.' she said and gave him a small kiss on the lips.

Erik's lips curled up.

'I don't give up that easy.' he said. 'But what am I doing here why am I not in the room I have to share with Olivia?'

'She was so worried about you; I thought it would be better if someone familiar would be there to comfort her. Plus the fact that your arm needed to be cooled down every now and then. She wouldn't be able to sleep if somebody continuously entered the room to help you.'

Meg came back and seemed surprised when she saw that Erik was awake.

'Oh, Erik,' Christine said when she noticed that Meg had entered the room. 'This is Meg, madame Giry's daughter, Meg this is Erik.'

Erik sat up a little.

'Nice to meet you, Meg.' he said.

'Meg took care of your wound nearly all night.' Christine said.

'Oh, really?' Erik said while showing a grateful smile to Meg.

Meg blushed. 'She is exaggerating.' she said.

'No, I think she's not. Thank you very much, misses Giry.' Erik answered, 'From now on I stand with you in debt.'

Meg didn't know what to say, not because of his words but because of the moment their eyes met.

'I... I think...' she cleared her throat, 'I think breakfast is nearly ready so,... shall I see you two in the kitchen soon?'

'Yes.' Christine answered.

'Good.' Meg put the bucket with water next to the spare bed and walked to the door. There she turned around.

'And, please call me Meg.' she said to Erik, and then she left.

'She is my best friend.' Christine said, and smiled to herself before she walked to the chair which stood in the corner of the room and took the fresh clothes she had laid ready earlier. Handing them to him.

'I've laid your clothes ready for you.'

'Thank you.' Erik whispered.

'You are more than welcome, dear.' she said and kissed him on the lips again, before she stood up and left him alone to get dressed.

'Shall I see you in 5 minutes, then?' He nodded.

With that she left him alone.


	13. Chapter 13

**Finally!**

After Erik had gotten himself dressed he walked to the others in the kitchen. There he was greeted by the four ladies who were already sitting at the table. Olivia ran up to him and he kneeled down beside her.

'Good morning, dear. How are you feeling?' She made some gestures.

'I know. But it won't happen again. I will never worry you again like that.' she smiled a little and hugged him, which made him smile in return.

'Shall we have breakfast? I'm starving.'

He followed Olivia to the table and sat down next to her.

After madame Giry had prayed they began to eat.

'I don't think Olivia and I can still go with you to the opera today, madame Giry.' said Christine, 'I have to stay with Erik.'

'No, you don't have to stay, dear.' replied Erik. 'I had plans to go too, remember?'

'Erik, I believe it will be better for you if you would rest today.'

'Don't you think that fresh air would do me good?'

'Erik, your stubbornness has nearly done the business for you already, so make sure that it won't really happen this time.'

'Christine, love, I appreciate that you're worried about me, but I'm alright. I feel that my body and mind can handle it.'

Christine made an end to the conversation with a sigh and they finished their meal in silence.

When they were finished, Erik offered to help the ladies with the dishes, but Christine shook her head.

'No, Erik. We'll be fine.'

He nodded and was about to leave when he heard Christine's voice again.

'Erik?'

He turned around to face her.

'Does your arm hurt much?'

'A little. I just need to keep in mind that I don't use my wrist.'

'I know something that will help you with that.'

Erik looked at her. She was searching for something.

'I think this will do.' she muttered.

She was holding a rather large white cloth. She walked up to Erik with it.

She tied it like a sling. Then she lay Erik's hand in it and put it around his neck.

'There,' she said, 'this will make it easier for you not to use your wrist.'

Erik tried to pull the sling off.

'No, Erik, don't do that.' Christine said, and stopped him.

'But it looks ridiculous.'

'But this will help you. Please, wear it, for me.''

She lay a hand on his left cheek and looked deeply into his eyes.

When he looked at her, he was entranced by those brown eyes, feeling her warm hand on her cheek calmed him down somehow.

'Please...' she whispered.

Erik nodded slowly.

Christine placed a small kiss on his lips.

'Thank you.' she said.

They did not notice Meg was watching them from out of the corner of her eye, and they quickly made themselves ready to leave and waited for the others to be ready, and then they left.

When they arrived at the opera house Erik went straight to his lair.

On his piano chair he found his coat, it was torn and dirty and it still smelled like smoke. He checked both pockets and in the right pocket he found the picture. He wiped the dust of the photo with his sleeve and looked at it. There was a man and a woman sitting on a bench the man who should have been Olivia's father had a small moustache and glasses, the woman was Joséphine. Her hair was tied in a knot and she had a child from about two years old at her lap, Olivia. The couple smiled but Olivia looked to something at the left and didn't mind the photographer.

He lay his coat back on the chair and went on looking through all his stuff till he found what he was looking for, a wooden frame big enough for the photo. Carefully he put the photo in it and put a black ribbon around it, not the best color but is was the only color he had.

_I hope she will like this._

He took one more look at the photo, then he quickly wrote a note for the managers to remind them about who is actually running the opera, and after that he put the note in an envelope, he left his lair again.

In the hallway he met madame Giry, she seemed a bit in a rush.

'Antoinette, have you seen Christine?' he asked when she passed by.

'I believe that I saw her backstage somewhere with Olivia.'

'Thank you, madame. Oh and can you put this note in the managers' office for me?'

She released an irritated sigh.

'Sorry, Erik,' she replied, 'but I'm in a rush right now. The rehearsals begin in five minutes and we can't start without monsieur Reyer.'

With big steps she walked away.

He waited till madame Giry was out of sight then he walked to the manager's office.

He listened at the door, there was no sound. He knocked at the door to be sure of the managers' absence. When there was no reply he opened the door and sneaked inside. He slipped the note in the pocket of monsieur Firmin's coat, which was hanging on the hatstand in the room.

When he left again and closed the door behind him, he heard two voices in the hallway. As soon as he could, he hid himself in the familiar shadows of the opera house.

He recognized the beautiful voice of Christine, but who was the other person? It was the voice of a young man, he was certain of that.

_Could it be? Could it be HIM? The Vicomte?_

Christine's voice confirmed his thoughts.

'Oh Raoul, I'm so happy that you did that for me.'

Erik could see them standing now, the Vicomte, who was carrying Olivia, and Christine.

'Raoul, how can I thank you for this?' Christine asked.

'You don't have to thank me Christine, it's nothing. You are just born for the leading role.'

'Words can't tell how grateful I am.' She turned to Olivia.

'Isn't this wonderful, Olivia? Now you can see me on stage many times.'

Olivia nodded excitedly, which made Christine laugh:

'You should thank your cousin for that.'


	14. Chapter 14

Olivia gestured something to Raoul.

'I'm sorry, Olivia.' he said, 'but your gesture language is still a mystery to me.'

Erik stepped out of the shows from where he had been watching the three people.

'She said, ''thank you''.' he said.

Christine gasped.

'Erik? Where did you come from?' she asked.

'I was searching for you, love.'

'Oh, Raoul, this is Erik, Olivia's teacher.' Christine told Raoul, happy she could introduce Erik as Olivia's teacher instead as the Angel of Music which was only a story to Raoul.

'Then, you are the hero who tried to save my cousin. Monsieur, I stand in your debt.'

'No, you don't,' Erik answered, 'and I am neither a hero.'

Josephine's death was still a sensitive subject for him.

'But you tried...'

'Yes, I tried,' Erik cried, 'but I failed! It was in vain! Josephine is dead!'

Olivia started to cry and buried her head in Raoul's shoulder.

The Vicomte whispered comforting words to Olivia.

Christine lay a hand on Raouls shoulder.

'Perhaps it is better if you would look after Olivia, Raoul. You are her cousin after all.'

_What! she can't do this to me! She can't take Olivia away from me!_ shot through Erik's mind.

'Christine, no...' Erik muttered.

'Erik, you can visit her every day in the opera.'

Erik looked shocked at her. How could she do this to him? She knew how he loved her. His brows turned into a frown and he couldn't help walking away. He needed fresh air, needed to think.

He heard Christine talk to him but he wasn't listening, he didn't want to hear it.

**Meg POV**

In the break I went outside for some air. I sat on the stairs of the Opera Populair.

A cold breeze made me shiver.

I heard the main door open and close. I turned around and saw a man standing outside. I recognized him immediately: It was Erik. He stood there frozen to the ground. His gaze pointed to the floor, he seemed angry and sad at the same time. I stood up and walked up to him.

'Erik, are you alright?' I asked.

He didn't answer me.

'Erik, is something wrong?' I asked again and lay my hand on his shoulder. I felt him stiffen even more when I touched him.

'Erik?'

'I'm alright, Meg.' he said barely audible, his gaze was still focused on the ground.

I forced him to look at me.

'I know you're not.' I whispered, 'Tell me, Erik. What has happened?'

'They want to take her away from me.' he mumbled and looked to the ground again.

'Who wants to take who? What are you talking about?'

'It was _her_ idea.'

'Who, Erik? I don't understand.'

'Christine, the Vicomte, they want to take Olivia away from me...'

'Olivia, the little girl? Why would they do that? Christine knows how much you love her.'

There was a silence for a moment.

I sighed.

'I know how it feels. When someone who is very dear to you, takes away someone you love.'

Erik looked at me again.

'You do?' he asked .

I nodded. _If you only knew._

Right then my mother stepped outside.

'Ah Meg, I knew I would find you out here.' she said, 'The rehearsals will continue. Erik, what are you doing here? '

'I'm on my way home, Madame,' he answered, then he left. I watched him till he was out of sight. Then I walked to my mother who was already gone inside.

**Writer's POV**

'Meg!' cried her mother, 'Meg! Is there something wrong with you? You're dancing out of rhythm all the time, you didn't do half of you're steps and... You're not listening to me, are you?'

'What? No, I'm listening. '

'Then what did I just say?'

'Emm, something about... my steps?'

Madame Giry sighed impatiently.

'Girls!' she said to the rest of the ballet girls, 'keep on practicing your pirouettes. Francine, have a break, your ankle is still a little weak. And I really need you in the show.'

Meg wanted to stand back in line with the other girls, but madame Giry stopped her.

'No, not you, mademoiselle.' she said, 'I want to talk to you in private.'

They walked away from the group.

Madame Giry crossed her arms.

'What is going on, Meg?' she asked 'There is obviously something wrong.'

Meg shrugged.

'It's just... It's nothing, mother.'

'Has it something to do with Erik? I know he may be an odd appearance. But I promise you, he is a fine man.'

'Yes, he sure is...' Meg said, a smile and a deep red blush appeared on her face by the sudden wave of butterflies in her stomach and she broke her gaze from her mother's. Slowly she looked again to her mother with a guilty gaze, and the madame gasped.

'Oh, Meg. Please tell me you're kidding me.'


	15. Author's note

**Heey everybody, I have some bad news...**

**It's not going very well between me and my friend, that's why there hasn't been an upload for such a long time. (and she is lazy)**

**Let's say she turned out to be different than I thought she was and that she hasn't been completely honest with me. **

**I don't think she'll ever upload another chapter, because she has written about ten sentences since the last update. **

**But no worries, these personal things won't interfere with the story. So maybe you'll like it ... maybe not, but I will continue this story from now on.  
>Thing is, I don't have very much time so it may take another month before this story will be updated. I just wanted to let everybody know that this story hasn't died or anything, we just have a bit of technical problems ;) <strong>

**I know how she wanted to continue this story so I'll try to keep as close to that plot line as possible.**

**Thanks everybody for the patience, you are the best!**

**Greetings, **

**Twilight's-Phantom**


	16. Chapter 16

**Sorry I kept you all waiting, I hope you haven't forgotten what has happened so far.**

**Meg POV**

Though it wasn't the time to smile, I could not stop. My mother was looking at me, but she hid her expression behind a steel mask. After a few moments I managed to get the smirk off my face and was about to walk back to my place when Christine suddenly burst through the door. "Madame, have you seen Erik?"

"Yes, he was looking for you he told me."

"He has gone home." I said quickly.

Christine sighed lightly and a faint smile formed on her lips. "Thank you, Meg."

She said before turning around and walking away again.

**Writer's POV**

When Christine opened the door to Madame Giry's house she called out and waited for a reply. "Erik are you here?" But she got no response. "Erik?" she asked again. She checked the living room, the kitchen, knocked on the door of the bathroom, but he wasn't there. When she opened the door to Meg's bedroom though, she found him curled up on his bed, his back toward her.

"Erik?" she asked cautiously. "I need to talk to you." She took a few steps in his direction and then noticed his slow breathing. She feared he might have lost consciousness again and rushed to his side to check his temperature. When she looked at the left side of his face though, she noticed he had been crying. She frowned and gently moved him to his back to inspect him better. What she had not seen was the mask he clutched in his sleep and she nearly gagged when she looked upon the distorted side of his face. She covered her mouth with her hand to keep back a cry of fear and backed away from him. Stumbling over a pair of shoes she gave a loud groan when her head made contact with the ground.

She sight was a blur for a moment but then she noticed his body moved and saw he sat up, rubbing his eyes. She heard his gasp and a little later felt his hands lifting her up to sit on the ground. "Christine are you alright?"

When she glanced up at him carefully she saw the left side of his face and the white mask on the other as it had always been and she burst into tears when the image of the ragged flesh appeared before her eyes again.

He didn't know what to do, he was angry with her for sending Olivia to Raoul but he couldn't leave her here on the ground all upset. And by loud crash she had made when she fell he was sure she had hurt herself, but when he asked if she was alright she nodded.

"Tell me what it is then?" he asked as gently as he could.

"It's your face." she sobbed and he turned pale by her words. "What do you mean?" he asked frightened. She pointed at the right side. He didn't know how to react, his eyes just wide as he stared at her. She dried her tears with the sleeve of her dress and called his name. He looked at her, guilt shining in his eyes.

"I've made a mistake." was all he said and he stood quickly and rushed out of the room. Not even one minute later she heard the front door open and close and she burst into sobbing again.

...

When Meg came home later that day she found Christine on the bedroom floor, her eyes red from crying. When she asked what was wrong Christine felt the tears well up in her eyes and everything started again. "Where's Erik? "

When Christine only started to sob harder by this question Meg decided to remain quiet and helped her friend up. "Christine you're shaking like a leaf."

She grasped her friend's hand tightly and helped her to the living room. There she pushed her down gently on the cosy couch and sat beside her. "Did you knock your head? There is an ugly bump on your head. Wait; let me get you something cold for that first."

She sat up and went to the kitchen to come back with a cold cloth and a glass filled with water. She handed them to Christine and sat back beside her. When Christine seemed to have calmed down a bit her best friend dared to ask the question that had been in her mind since she had found her friend in great distress on the floor. "Christine, what has happened?"

"Something terrible Meg. Something terrible has happened." Christine whispered, and Meg saw fear in those big brown eyes.

"Did Erik hurt you?" The blonde girl asked. Just to make sure that wasn't the case.

"No Meg, Erik would never dare to do such a thing. He just..." She let out a tired sigh and looked away from the eyes looking at her. "Why does he wear a mask?" She looked back at her friend and saw she shrugged. "I don't know. Mother has not told me a lot about him."

"Well..." Meg noticed Christine's voice was still shaky, "I have seen what he hides Meg..."

There was a long silence as Meg expected Christine to continue, but nothing happened.

"What is he hiding then?" Meg finally blurted out when she couldn't wait any longer and leaned closer to her friend. "I never should have reacted the way I did." Christine said suddenly, and tears stung in her eyes again. "I have hurt him Meg." She grasped the arm of her friend and Meg embraced her back when she suddenly clung to her. "I have hurt him very much!"

"Hush, Christine." Meg whispered soothingly. "I'm sure you had a very clear reason why you reacted the way you did."

"I wasn't prepared, Meg. Now he thinks I am disgusted of him, but I am not, I just hadn't seen this coming."

Meg held her friend close as she tried to imagine what could have startled Christine so much about his face. _'Unless there's only skull to see...'_ she thought to herself.

"Don't worry Christine, you must tell him you didn't mean to freak out the way you did. Where is he now?"

"I don't know. He left without a word." Christine said and the tears fell down her cheeks again. "I am so worried, Meg. What if he's going to pass out again? There is nobody to help him."

"Christine, calm down. We are going back to the opera to see mother. I am sure she'll know where he went to. Maybe he has gone back to his lair and is he safe there."

"It's all my fault." Christine muttered as she shook her head sadly.

"Christine don't say that. Come, put on your coat and then we're going to find him."

Meg pulled her friend from the couch and Christine followed her to the hall where they put on their coats and left the house.

Meg had only gotten incredibly curious about what Erik was hiding. Maybe when he was back she could take off his mask in his sleep and have a look for herself? Surely nobody would notice.

She secretly smiled at that thought. She had enjoyed that night with only her and Erik in her room. She hoped they would find him hiding somewhere, half conscious from exhaustion. She would be with him all night long again and would have all the time to examine him thoroughly. A deep blush appeared on her cheeks from that thought and she pushed it away and instead focused on the rising building in front of her. When they entered the opera they quickly sought for her mother and after a while found out she was in conversation with the managers. They waited impatiently till her mother was finished and then nearly knocked her over by their sudden wave of words. Though Antoinette tried hard to make some sense out of their stories, she could not. She raised her hand in a strict manner and both the girl stopped talking at once. "Please, please, on at a time. Meg you tell me, what has happened?"

"Well, to get straight to the point: we lost Erik."

**I hope you don't mind the sudden change of writing style, I am horrible at imitating somebody else's writing.**


	17. Chapter 17

_"Well, to get straight to the point: we lost Erik." _

Madame Giry looked confused at her daughter. "What do you mean lost?"

"He ran away."

"What? Why?"

"Well, that's a long story. Do you know where he could have run to?"

Meg watched her mother's frown struck face.

"He could've gone anywhere." Antoinette said at last. Christine felt tears sting in her eyes again when she thought of Erik being all by himself in the big city.

"Do you know how to get to his lair? We thought he might be there." She asked, in hope he would be there and Madame Giry would know the way. They seemed like close friends after all.

"I'm sorry, Christine. I don't know how to get to his lair. He was always very secure about it. The older he got, the more he seemed to venture into the darkness. I think we'll have to wait till he returns."

Christine's lip started to tremble and then her sobbing started again. "But what if he passes out again?! It's all my fault! If I hadn't been so horrible to him…"

Meg hugged her friend. "I'm sure he is safe Christine. I bet he has gone through alot of worse things." She whispered reassuringly.

"Please Christine, Tell me what has happened between the two of you."

Christine nodded and Antoinette brought her children to her room so they could talk in private.

By the time they were on their way home again the sun was already going down.

...

I felt tears stung in my eyes as I pulled the front door shut behind me. I felt ashamed of myself. Christine had seen the real me and by the look she had on her face she didn't like it. I ran through the streets in a blind rage. This was not how I had imagined my life. I had hoped Christine could look at me. As I ran, there was a small stinging starting in my lower arm, but I kept running anyway. How foolish of me to think that Christine would be able to do that. No one could look at this face, not even my own mother, not even Antoinette. How did it come to mind to think that Christine was different? How foolish of me…

I stopped to catch my breath; my stamina had been horrible since I ran into that burning house. I wondered if everything could ever go back to normal again. Did I want that? It would mean Christne was still unaware of the man I was. She'd still think I am an Angel. Yes, I wanted everything to go back to normal. And I would leave her alone, knowing she did not love me as I had hoped she did. As my thought ran onl I surveyed my surroundings and spotted a small bench.

I sat down and suddenly felt the pain in my arm got ten times worse. I groaned but suppressed the pain as much as possible. I knew I needed to get home before things got out of hand and looked around me again. It was then I came to realization: I didn't recognize my surroundings. I didn't recognize any of it! I searched the skyline for a church or anything that peeked out above the simple houses but… in vain.

I sighed and quickly sat down when everything started to turn around me. _'Oh God, not again'_

I closed my eyes and it seemed to help, after a while my dizziness started to fade away, but when I opened my eyes again it returned. I checked my pockets in hope to find a few lost francs somewhere but knew I wouldn't find anything; I never put money in my pockets!

"This is just great." I whispered to myself and stood up, making a few steps carefully to find it was going quite well...I think. I needed to get to the opera and dragged my body through the streets trying to find something that I recognized, but it didn't appear. When I tried to ask for the way people avoided me. Of course they did. I look like some kind of criminal with my mask and the desperate look on my face. When the sun started to disappear I sat down on a bench to rest for a moment, I was exhausted. Where in the world did I run to?

I tried to think back my route, but it had been too far to remember. With a groan I let my head fall backwards. The dizziness was getting worse as darkness fell. Also, the wound started to hurt more and more. I stood again and decided to walk again. Surely I would find something I recognized.

It was almost midnight when I suddenly noticed the river. The Seine!

I looked around me. If the river was here, than the Opera was north, or at least, that is what I was hoping for. Suddenly I felt less dizzy and quickly made my way. After about an hour of walking I read from one of the signs: Rue Scribe.

I sighed in relieve. It should be here somewhere!

But as I wanted to take another step I felt myself getting sick. Sick, sick, sick. It was horrible. I groaned against the pain and fell over, my instincts catching me just in time. I panted. I couldn't take this any longer. I stood again, and took a step. It was getting blurrier by the minute and suddenly everything went dark and I collapsed to the ground.

...

"Erik?! Erik can you hear me?" It was an Angel speaking to me. This could mean only one thing: I was dead. In my happiness I sighed. Yes, I admit I am happy. Finally this dreaded life is over. Though I admit there are a lot of things I still want to do, like going to America, making love, finish my opera. But that is all over now. I smiled, but suddenly a bright light flashed before my eyes and an unbearable heat unfurled in me. Was the bible right about heaven and hell then? Was I descending into hell? I, who had suffered enough in life already? I felt a breeze flow past my body and suddenly that angelic voice was back. "Try to stay awake, Erik. You're safe here."

What did that mean? Had faith not yet decided what place I belonged in. I groaned when a terrible head ache came over me and then the angelic voice shushed me.

Out of a sudden there was light again, a lot of light. And I automatically crossed my hands in front of my eyes, but felt something pull them away and heard muttering voices. What was happening? Were they going to torture me?

"Erik, you can open your eyes."

Open my eyes? But I was dead, was I? Why is there an Angel talking to me when I am in Hell?

I tried to open my eyelids with all my might but they were too heavy. I groaned annoyed, needing to know what was happening. A sudden surge of fear went through my body and I felt strength to stand up. Apparently I took my captors off guard cause out of a sudden there was a lot commotion and a lot of noises. When I felt the captors take me by my arm to pull me down again I started to fight back. Screaming to let me go I struggled, and struggled and struggled. And I felt it was working but suddenly I heard that angelic voice again. "Erik, stop fighting. You silly man, don't you know that you are safe?"

I stopped immediately when I heard that Angel. "Yes Erik, that's right. Take it easy. We are helping you. Trust us."

I felt something in me stir from that seductive voice. I wanted to hear more of it. I wanted to know what 'us' meant. I gave a soft moan as I was pushed down again and then felt something soft on my cheek. "Thank you, dear."

Suddenly there was cold on the right side of my face and I wanted to protest, but then thought back of what the Angel had said and kept calm. Even when I felt somebody undress me I remained still. In fact, I was so tired from fighting I felt frozen. I still had no clue as to what was happening and decided to let me surprise me, but soon the bright light started to fade to darkness again.

...

I thought I saw a ghost at first when I saw something fall outside on the street. It had been in the middle of the night. I wasn't able to sleep because of worry about Erik and was sitting in the living room, praying to God to give me a sign.

When I saw that shadow I felt my heart leap. After I had made sure it was human and not moving anymore I dared to venture out to the unknown. I nearly cried out when I recognized the white mask and ran back inside the house to wake the others.

We dragged Erik inside to the burning fire in the living room where Antoinette tended his wounds. She was the one who told me Erik should be able to hear me. I spoke to him in hope he would respond to me but he didn't, he just stayed still until a certain a point. He had jumped up and was fighting madly. In his rage he had accidently hit Madame Giry. We tried to get a hold of him but he was so immense strong. But when I spoke to him he got calm again. Even so calm we could take off his shirt and wash his body quickly. He had cuts in his arms and his clothes were a mess as well. I had to admit I felt embarrassed when Antoinette stripped him off his shirt and waistcoat.

Yes, I had seen men's chests before but… this was Erik's. When I stared at him my breathing became ten times faster, and I tried to hide it as much from Madame Giry as possible, but I'm afraid she noticed. Meg wasn't there luckily. She surely would have noticed and would have pestered me with it for months. She was in the kitchen, getting the medical treatments her mother had asked for. As she was fixing him, I kept talking to him, in case he would try something stupid again.

When we were finished we put a clean shirt on him and moved him to the bedroom I was sleeping in. Madame Giry gave me instructions on how to tend his burned arm if it started to hurt again. When she left I let out a deep sigh and looked at the man on the bed. I felt tears of happiness in my eyes as I studied him. He was back. I walked to him when his moaning started and did as Antoinette had said. He was soon quiet again and I smiled at him, giving his cheek a little kiss. I heard he groaned softly as I did so and I couldn't help but ask, "Are you awake, sweetheart?"and let my fingers gently glide down his jaw line. My eyes studied his face in hope for a sign of life or a reply. Though I wished he would just open his eyes and smile at me he started to tremble violently instead. I carefully pulled the bed sheets up till his chest, making sure I wasn't hurting his arm. I put a cold cloth over his wound again so it would cool down. I bit my lip when he didn't stop trembling and was about to call Madame Giry when I suddenly heard his beautiful voice whisper,

" .chris-tine..."

I gasped and then looked back at his face. His eyes were still closed, but I was sure I had heard him. "I'm here." I whispered and took his non burned hand in mine and squeezed it tightly. "I'm here." I heard another soft groan and then his head fell to one side, his mask now perfectly visible to me and the sight of what was underneath it flashed before my eyes. Why exactly I don't know, but I brought up my hand and was about to take off the mask… when I stopped. Did I dare?

I gave a reassuring nod to myself and then my fingers slipped under the cold porcelain and I revealed his face to me. Strangely though, this time the sight did not bring up any emotion whatsoever.

I stared at the deformity for a long time before I finally let my fingers trace over the ragged skin. Even in his sleep he flinched from the touch and I withdrew my fingers quickly, not wanting to have a fight with him again. But I smiled at him and placed a kiss on his chin again. "It's okay Erik. I love you. You are beautiful to me."

...

Apparently God had given me another chance. I was able to open my eyes, only to see soft light at first, not at all the bright one from yesterday. I felt something press on my chest and gave my eyes a few moments to focus and then saw it was my Christine. I felt a shock of heat shot through my body at the realization that she was actually sleeping on my chest. I couldn't see her face, only her wild brown curls, but I felt her soft breathing through my shirt, and her hands holding mine tightly. I smiled, and enjoyed the sight. There was an itch starting in my throat, but I resisted to couch. I didn't want to ruin this beautiful moment. It was a miracle Christine even wanted to look at me after what had happened yesterday. That moment when my mask…. Wait… my mask… it was gone! I gasped, something I regretted dearly because Christine shot up and looked at me with amazed eyes. I shot up as well and hid the right side of my face carefully.

"What are you doing woman?!" I shouted in blind rage and want to stand up but was knocked over by her arms. "Oh Erik," She hugged me tightly, making me unable to breathe or to move. "Is this what you say to me after I saved your life?" she whispered in my hair and I froze to the bone.

She broke away for me and cupped my cheek as she looked me deeply in the eyes. "You silly man. I love you, Erik. You need to stop hiding from me."

I couldn't move... only look at her in awe, and she carefully removed my hand from my face. As she looked at me she started to smile. 'Wh- What's so funny?" I demanded, and her pink lips came closer to my ear so I could just hear the words. "You are making a very funny face."

She then kissed my cheek. And broke away from me fully to redo the cloth around my arm.

I didn't say anything, I wasn't able to. In fact, I was dumbfounded. What was she saying. Then our eyes met, and she smiled with a soft giggle. How was that even possible? But before I could even think of a possible answer she had already pushed her lips against mine in a kiss. My eyes closed by the electric spark that she released and I gave a moan. When I felt she wanted to break away I leaned forward, deepening the kiss instead. She smiled against my mouth and moved closer to me, as did I to her. I suddenly needed her badly, my kisses becoming intenser, and she shared them gladly. I whispered her name and started on her neck instead, feeling the soft skin made a shiver run up my body. My hands on her back pushed her gently closer to me. "My Christine…" I purred against her neck with a smile. I heard her soft laughter and broke away to look at her mischievously. She blushed and placed a hand on my chest. For one moment I thought I was dreaming as I looked at her beauty. Even with her eyes still full of sleep she was beautiful. And her smile… Aah, how I loved it when she smiled, like she did now. And the blush made her look so innocent…

I leaned closer and kissed her again, feeling her mouth move against mine, her breath becoming ragged, as did mine. I wanted to explore her more... and when I found courage to do so and was about to do it I suddenly heard the door open. I felt startled by that sound and broke away quickly. Christine's blush had only deepened and when I looked at the door I saw Madame Giry to my dislike. I felt my cheeks became hot as well and then brought my hand up to my face again.

"I… we…" I stammered, as we both moved away from each other. I heard Christine laugh when Madame Giry only shook her head, but I did see that little smile she had on her face.

"How is he?" she asked Christine, her tone serious. Why not just asking me?

"He's okay."

"Mmh, I believe you immediately. Breakfast is ready in a few minutes. Will you join?"

"Yes, I'll be right there. Erik will you join too?"

When she looked at me I nearly melt, her beautiful brown eyes were pleading for me. How could I refuse? I nodded and Christine said we would be there in a second.

Antoinette left with a nod again, and Christine's attention turned to me. "I'll get you a fresh shirt." She told me and left. In the time she was gone I replaced the mask on my face and already unbuttoned the shirt I was wearing. I noticed the small cuts on my torso and arms and frowned; did I get these last night?

When Christine came back I saw she was surprised to see me without shirt already, and a blush spread over her cheeks again. "Shouldn't you get dressed too now?" I asked, and then, too late, I realized what I had just said. Christine giggled, and walked over to the chair on the other side of the room to fetch my waistcoat and cravat. "I'll dress later Erik. If you don't mind."

When I was fully dressed she helped me up.

"Are you still dizzy?" Her concern gave a smile to my lips I closed my eyes for a second. When I opened them everything was still…no spinning whatsoever. Christine helped me to the kitchen where the others were waiting for us. Christine sat beside me and I first of all took a sip from the tea Antoinette gave me. I was so thirsty from last night.

"Okay, now that we are complete again, I'd like to know what has happened." Antoinette began, but was looking at my direction. "Erik, why did you run away? How many times have I told you running away is not the answer?"

I was silent and stared at the hands in my lap in guilt. The tension in the air was killing me, it was always when Antoinette was angry with me. She always made me feel guilty.

"Erik talk to me."

I bend my head further to avoid her gaze.

"I think it is something me and Erik have to talk about in private." Christine said and gently placed her hand on my arm, as if to tell me it was alright.

Antoinette nodded. "Just don't this again to us, Erik."

"I'm sorry." I said softly.

"Where did you go to yesterday?"

"Nowhere."

She suddenly burst out in anger. "Erik, you are going to tell me where you went or I'll have to ask you to leave!"

"I said I went nowhere, I just walked down the streets and got lost."

"Erik, eat something you must be hungry." Christine said calmly through our conversation. Probably to keep us from yelling at each other. It wouldn't be the first time that happened.

I thanked her and followed her advice. Antoinette and Meg stood and said they needed to go to the opera. "Christine, you'll stay with Erik? Then you have all the time you need to... _talk_."

What?! Did I hear that correctly. That tone in her voice... How rude! I looked shocked at Christine to see she wasn't surprised at all and only nodded at the answer. Then Antoinette's attention turned to me. " Erik, I'll have a talk with you this evening…. In private."

And then Christine and I were alone. We continued our breakfast in silence. That is untill Christine broke it.

"Erik... I'd like to apologize for yesterday. I-I didn't mean to react-"

"You had all right to react the way you did. Now, there is a question I want to ask of _you_." I said quickly, just to avoid her apologies. It was me who should ask for forgiveness.

"Ask me."

"Why did you send Olivia to Raoul?"

Christine swallowed. "Is this why you left yesterday?"

"Tell me!" I demanded, all my anger I had for her suddenly returned.

Christine sighed. "Raoul is a relative, it will seem less odd if she stays with him. Maybe he can contact the family."

"I hope you understand she has no family."

"She has Raoul. That means they also have uncles and aunts."

"I understand that. But I meant to say family that lives close by."

"Why is that important? As long as she has family it's all good."

"But she doesn't know them! She'll be alone then. Alone and in a foreign place, maybe even country! Have you thought about those relatives? Do you think they understand her gestures?!"

Christine looked at me with guilty eyes and I suddenly found myself hovering over her. I sometimes did strange things in my rage. In Christine's eyes I saw she had not considered that what I had just said. "Then... what do you suggest we do?" she spoke slowly.

"I'll raise her. I'll teach her everything I know."

"How? Where?"

"I buy a house."

"With what money?"

"I can work."

"Erik... I don't think this is going to work."

"Why not Christine? Give me one reason." There the anger was again, I felt my breathe fasten because I knew what she was going to say.

"Your mask..."

See? I knew it. I turned away from her and let my arms hang beside my body as I tried to calm down.

"Erik..." she walked up to me and hugged me, "don't take this wrong. You are a beautiful man with a lot of capabilities, and I'm sure you'll raise her just perfectly. but I just think you yourself won't find peace in this society."

"I'll have to." I answered as I put my arms around her as well. But she broke away a little to look at me. "No, Erik. Listen to me. Be reasonable for a moment now. Do you enjoy it when I take you for strolls through the city?"

"No, I-" I stopped as realization dawned on me.

"I feel uncomfortable..." he muttered softly. She was right…

"You need to change if you want to take care of Olivia. If you want to have a real job you need to learn to fit in between the people."

"Christine... I...I don't know if I can."

"Do you love Olivia?"

"Yes."

"Do this for her then."

She moved closer to me again, and placed her hand on my chest. Even through my clothes I felt her warmth. "Do it for me too, Erik. I love you, but I can see you aren't used to this life at all. We need to change that."

"Will you help me?"

She smiled before kissing me full on the lips, "Of course I will."


End file.
